Alshain Edition: Chapter 1
Summary On there way to the <> to take on the Grand Quest, the pair stop in Legrue where Tallyn meets a fellow SAO survivor. Seeing the way his brother acted around other survivors starts getting Alshain into thought. Crossroads Legrue, Legrue Corridor, Alfheim, January 21st, 2025, 20:34 We returned to the safety of the neutral town between the two exits of this cave. <> was the only safe zone between <> in Salamander Territory and <> at the base of the <>, and the constant respawning of orcs meant that it was a great place to build up skill stats and hone our own abilities. Flying was something I should have been given time to practice. I found it quite unfair how Tallyn's race was allowed to fly inside caves and other dark spaces with no celestial light, and plus he was also a light weight race, so he could run along the walls. I picked strength over skill, and now I kind of regretted it. Though my character's body was rather smaller than most Salamanders, and it didn't have the signs that it was very strong, but I had been improving my skills and I have mastered the basic spells for fire projection magic. "Ok, so how high is your two-handed sword skill now?" he asked me. Being that he had two years of experience in his mind, he was fully aware of a lot of the systems in this game. He was luckier that most of this game was ported from Sw- the 'other game', he used to play. I tried my best to never mention it, especially after all the pain he had to endure. His psychiatrist was very specific on allowing him to live without having to be reminded too often about what he experienced. I tried, but when a lot of the topics had to stem back to SAO, it became increasingly hard not to mention it. But I hated what that game did to him. He lost two years of his life IRL, fighting to stay alive, killing monsters, floor bosses, and in the extreme of it, other players. I couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty of being forced from the game under an illegal downloaded copy, with my brother's beta account, the same character name I christened this character. "Um, let's see here." Despite my affinity for using spells, which I could improve its conjuring with my <>, Onii-chan said that I should practice honing my skills with a second weapon as well in case the enemy changes the battle to close quarter combat. Utilizing my characters build, I went with a two-handed sword. "According to this, it should be . . ." I was surprised to see what I just achieved when I finally found the skills lists for my character. "I just hit 600." "Ok then, I think that tomorrow we should try to move onto to Alne then." This raised my suspicions; "Alne? Why?" I thought it was reasonable since all we'd been doing for the last week was grinding our way through this corridor, so that we could better practice our magic and special abilities. My brother just flicked his right wrist, then tried again, before slapping his forehead and flicking his left wrist to open the menu up. He moved over to the map and showed the area on the other side of the cave, at the base of the <>. "Well, the Grand Quest is there, for one thing. There's not point playing a game if you can't advance forward. It would be like playing . . ." He stopped. "What?" I then realized he was going to mention . . . you know what. He shook it off with a smile and pretended to restart the conversation. ". . . Uh, nothing. You know playing a game, any old game that doesn't have some form of ending, because then you wouldn't feel like you've accomplished anything." "Yeah, you're right. Still I can't imagine you would want to try since no one has ever reached the end of the first level, and there should at least be ten if we're lucky." He closed his menu and *pfft* as he continued holding to his forced smile. "The mobs are just weak level monster that spawn in large quantities. At the every least we can hone our skills and build out stats, and if it gets too much, we can just bail and try again. It's basically the ultimate grinding area in the game." I raised an eyebrow and just continued arguing. "That's cutting it really short. If no one can reach the second level, what makes you think . . ." Then he just stopped moving. I looked over at him, and started waving my hands over his line of sight in case there was a lagging delay. Though come to think of it, we're both using the same internet reception, so wouldn't I also be experiencing lag. And from the looks of everyone around, I wasn't lagging, so something else had to be up. "what's wrong?" "Hang on, is that? Kirito?" "Wait, who's Ki-" I couldn't stop him, as he was already walking away, and up to this Spriggan sitting there on a bench. All black clothes and black spiky hair. And he had a very large sword strapped to his back, which was probably uncomfortable to lay back on. I watched as he walked up to this guy, and I saw my brother seemingly evolve into this other person. I didn't quite believe it when the doctor first came round. But when I looked up and watched him talking and how his entire body language and attitude evolved, I didn't see Satoru talking to this player. I saw a player I didn't know, wearing my brother's skin. Hikoboshi Residence, Shibuya, Tokyo, November 30th, 2024, 15:17 I remember that day when we got that unexpected visit from Satoru's psychiatrist. A lot of the extreme cased patients from the SAO incident were receiving therapy, but most of them described with a haunting whisper; Player killer, people killer, red guild, murder guild, red players. I had no idea what the colour red had to do with it, but it never sounded pleasant. The three of us; me and both our parents, were told to sit as he took a seat with the best view to talk to us all. We knew that a visit from a doctor was never a good sign, but when the doctor in question is meant to hold an oath of secrecy except under extreme circumstances, then worry doesn't even describe the kind of word you would apply to the situation. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this" he started, "but your son has what I believe to be dissociative identity disorder." "What does this mean, doctor?" Mum asked. She was the more vocal of the two, and whenever we would see anyone, she was there to talk for us. Not that we still needed it, but she always had our best interests and knew what we needed. Dad was more like us, he just wasn't one to talk about personal stuff like Mum could. When he flicked his glasses and opened his notes, we knew it was serious. "The ailment is more commonly known as 'multiple personality disorder', and it is easy to see that the events that he has witnessed whilst playing Sword Art Online have been the root of the problem, that we can be certain of." The way he worded it was even more worrisome, but it couldn't be helped, and we didn't want to interrupt him unless it was necessary. "Based on what we know from observing his behavior thus far, he is a smart lad, and he is aware that there is no second person living inside his head, so there is no need for clinical confinement, but." I couldn't help myself but speak out when he stopped at but. "But, what do you mean by 'but'? But cannot be good." "Please, I want to ensure you that as of right now, Satoru knows that he is one person." He then turned his attention away from me, like this shouldn't be something I should be hearing. I stayed though. I wanted to what was wrong with my brother. "However from what we can tell, his psyche has deliberately split your son's mind into two persons in order to better cope with what we can only assume he has witnessed." I watched as Mum grabbed hold of Dad's hand, she gripped so tightly, something I hadn't seen since Grandad, her Dad, had passed a way three years ago. Seeing it, seeing that, it felt like another disease was eating its way through another person I didn't want to die. But, somewhere, it felt like Satoru was dying. The camera in his room. We saw it, the day he woke up. We were told what had happened the moment he woke up. How he started crying, then he pulled the wires from his body and tried to kill himself. Watching him struggle to put that helmet back on, after everything that had happened, and watching him mouth those sounds. It was crushing. It hurt, to see how much in that moment, how much he wanted to die. "Your son's mental break, from what we know as of now, was caused by the high negative stimuli that he experienced in the game. According to the notes we have gathered from him, and from a few other players during their interrogations . . ." "Interrogations?" He flicked his glasses again. "Yes, the SAO Case Victims Rescue Force have been speaking to the remaining players who have managed to log out about their times in the game, that is all I am aware of. But, as Satoru's assigned psychiatrist, I was given special liberties to procure notes on whatever discussion they may have said to him. From my analysis and my own discussions with him, his mind is plagued with the memories of witnessing a large number of deaths." I was getting more worried. Neither Mum or Dad were saying anything. It's like, they didn't even know Satoru anymore. He is their son, he is my brother. Why wouldn't they say anything? He isn't a monster. He's a survivor. Why would they not say a thing? Then, he looked back at his notes, he deliberately flicked through the pages until he came to a shocking end. Something that I dreaded speaking up to. He said "that is not what I found most unusual. While every player has witnessed fellow players perishing, and their deaths in reality being confirmed on the same dates, your son's own demons are almost a unique case. He was able to name, and identify sixteen individual players perfectly clear and each of their deaths he has blamed on himself." I interrupted him, but I wished I left the room when he gave me the chance. I shouldn't have heard it. It wasn't what I wanted. "Satoru could never kill another human being. He couldn't even watch a lobster boil before he would eat it. He is not a killer." "We have a strong belief that he has killed twelve of the sixteen named players. And we know that all players were aware that death in the game meant real death, so your brother knew he was killing these people. And he still killed them." Hearing that, saying it so calmly. It was, like all the sound in the world stopped at once. Like all the colours in the room saturated. Satoru, killing people. I could hear nothing, except the gasps, and the ticking as time continued to move in this silence. "Rest assured that while we cannot prove that any of these people were killed by your son, he firmly believes that he has, even those that we know couldn't have been killed by him. A lot of other testimonies from other players have confirmed that some players killed in self defense, and that most players who did kill deliberately were detained for the remainder of the game, and are under constant surveillance for reintroduction." So then, there were killers. But I couldn't get that number for my head; twelve people. I had never heard of someone killing that many people, not a person who isn't a soldier, or someone who carries a gun for a living. "Your son is still fragile at the moment, but I believe that it would be in his best interest to return him to your care as soon as possible. Being locked up in hospital and questioned every minute is only asking for his current state of mind to shatter further. I will do all I can to make this easier for you and your son. I promise you this much." Was it that? Did he try to kill himself, because he thought he was guilty, or because he knew he was a killer? My brother, was being questioned every day, for what was suppose to be a game. He didn't want to kill anyone. I know him that much. He stood up, and put his notes away, he was preparing to leave. "Be assured that I am doing everything to ensure you that your son will be able to return to you as soon as possible. It will take time, but I will help in any way I can. I will take my leave now, and let you speak among yourselves. If you have anymore questions, then contact the main offices by the numbers they should have provided you. Good day." As soon as he left the room, the silence just couldn't stay for long. Mum was so upset, even Dad who never cried, his eyes were shut. We had lost Satoru for two years, and now we were being told that in spite of seeing him again, he might not last. I couldn't let him go. We grew so far apart because he became so busy, and then I tried to adapt without him, but that only made it worse between us. He told me that when they offered him the game to beta test, that he originally considered letting me have it, since he preferred playing under a storyline, while multiplayer was more my thing. But that he hesitated, before he could knock. I feel just as guilty as he did. If I had the game, instead of him, then maybe I would have been stronger than him. I could have survived without hitting the breaking point like he did. "Wait." I had to stop him. I needed to know. "Why did he do it?" I was talking about why my brother went to such lengths to create a second person in his mind. Many people who awoke from the game have started readjusting quite slow, but steady. Why not Satoru? "From what I had deduced thus far, young man. Your brother created an artificial 'shell' to shield himself from realizing that the game was no longer a game anymore. In a sense, he continued to role-play to keep his real self sane. But as the time prolonged, and he had no time to break from needing his 'shell', the fake personality he created to survive became a part of him that he could no longer live without. If we tried to rip it from him again, it could cause serious harm to his psyche. The very shock, could be the thing, that one push too far." That one push too far. If Satoru had to endure that, and Tallyn wasn't around, then it would kill him. He would kill himself. That was something I never needed to hear. Not about my own brother. Not Satoru. Legrue, Legrue Corridor, Alfheim, January 21st, 2025, 20:39 "Alshain? . . . Alshain! . . . Brother! Are you lagging? Hello!" I jumped in surprise when I realized my brothers face was directly in front of me. "Wh-what? Where?" I came back, realizing that I had been standing around, staring blankly in one direction. Tallyn was in front of me, snapping his fingers in front of my eyes. He stared deeply at me. His normally calm eyes, were squared and so focused. "Did something happen to your connection? You seemed like you were stuck for a second there." I jumped back and pulled an embarrassed grin. "No, it's not that? Are you back?" He raised an eyebrow. "Back? Um, well yes. I was just talking to someone I knew." "Fr-" I stopped myself before I could say it. I decided just to play safe and continue the conversation as if I never said a sound before that. "Oh, what did you talk about?" "Well, he was heading to Alne, he's trying to make it past the guardians as well." "Oh" I looked around and noticed that he wasn't here anymore. Surely he wouldn't have gone that far in . . . how long was I thinking for? Couldn't be that long, "where did he go? Did he already leave?" He nodded and crossed his arms. His eyes lowered till it looked like he was trying to sleep. I don't blame him, we had been playing almost the whole day, and the day/night cycles here do tend to mess you up a little bit. "Yeah, I saw him running with his party member a while ago. You've been staring into nothing for a while. Anything on your mind?" I jumped in surprise. I could almost feel the anime sweat drop falling down my forehead. "Hmm. No. No, nothing. I was just doing other stuff, 'cause I didn't want to intrude on your conversation" I was a bad liar to be honest. I never really needed to lie and never got any good at it, plus we'd been brothers for years, so as if he wouldn't pick up on me panicking my answers. I had distract him. "You two friends?" His shoulders rose like they were pulling in his neck. "I wouldn't say we're friends. I spent a long time trying to avoid people like him, not for bad reasons mind you. Personal issues, that sort of reason." I had no idea what reasons he would have, but it was territory he didn't want to talk about, so I just avoided asking any further. "Right." Then, just like that, he snapped back into his usual self. It was pretty scary watching him relax all his body and his face, like he'd never been there to begin with; the focused and protective Tallyn transformed back into the chilled and cheerful Satoru. It was strange seeing all those sharp edges round off again like they were rubber, bouncing back into shape. "Well, I think we should try making our way there. Plus I get use my wings now." He then started walking away, I didn't know that I wasn't moving until he stopped and turned around with his large smile. "Hurry up, or I'll leave you behind." I didn't know it, but I actually missed having him around, playing games with him like we used to. I could tell he was enjoying himself, and that made me feel happy inside, knowing I had him back with me. And now, we were off to take on the toughest obstacle in the game, together. I rolled my eyes and went along with his joke. "Don't believe you, you never could leave me behind when we were little." I should really have noticed that wicked grin that crawled up his cheek before he turned around though. "That's because we played on the same screen when we were little." He then sprouted his wings and started walking away. He surely wasn't going to leave me. "Here, I have no limitations to how far I can get ahead of you." The bat-like wings started flapping on their own, without the use of his controller. His feet left the ground and he was hovering over 2m above where he had been standing. He turned around and saluted me. "See you soon" he waved as his wings went super sonic and he dashed off towards the northern gate. Leaving me in the dust as I only just started running. "Hey! Come on, wait up." Damn him, and his stupid indoor flight. Plus he's the one with night vision, so I'll get lost in the northern corridor without him. What was he thinking? "Wait!" Alne, World Tree Base, Neutral Territory, Alfheim, January 22nd, 2025, 02:33 "Well, that was fun." He was lying, obviously; We entered there at about a few minutes after midnight, and they absolutely creamed us with their numbers in under ten minutes of all out brawling. The sad part of this explanation is that we attempted another six times after that, and we never got close to reaching the top. I was lucky enough to have a sense of retreating at the end of every single attempt before my brother completely flipped his lid. We wasted so much of out hard earned <> on potions and what not to replenish our health during the attempts. It never occurred to either of us that we would actually need a healing spell inside there. If there is a King Oberon at the top of that tree, he's probably laughing at us for our failure I thought at the time. "I'll say. Didn't think that there would be that many." Tallyn stretched his arms out, like he had been sleeping with a cramp for the entire night, as we walked down the steps to the central market district. I could hear the in-game cracking of his arms and shoulder bones, but they sounded very unrealistically like he was actually stretching them out. We went back to buy up some of our lost stock. For some reason, Tallyn still thought that we had another shot at making the flight, in spite of all the attempts we alone had failed. As we walked we started some small talk as a way to distract ourselves from our many defeats. "When did you pick up that explosion spell?" he asked me. I remembered which one he was talking about: þeir verða að vera eytt afmá þá í loga muspilli og rífa þá frá himnum Which, as I later found out, literally translated to mean: They must be destroyed, consume them in demon's flame, and rip them from the heavens. I was told to use it on aerial monsters since it works best when the target is in the sky rather than on the ground (hence the line about the heavens). "I learnt it from a guy I met back in Gattan. Since when could you use Dark Magic?" I remembered seeing my brother use magic for the first time; it was basically not very impressive, since he thought he would only get use out of night vision, but he found a use for the darkness magic as well. One particular good one was one that destroyed enemies in front of him: slóðin okkar er læst, láttu skuggana eyða þeim Which basically meant: our path is blocked, let the shadows destroy them. Simple, short, and it proved quite effective till his mana dropped and he couldn't use it again. "I read about it in the manual a week ago." "When did you get a manual?" He pondered on the thought for a moment, but then it came back to him. "When I went into the shopping district. Remember? Takeaway Tuesday." "Ah yes" I replied. It was the same day he went out for the third time since he escaped . . . 'the game', and he went to buy us some takeaway lunch as an excuse to get him to leave since he had been cooped up in the house since he was allowed to leave the hospital. "Good lunch that was." Deep fried chicken with fries, a Pepsi Max, corn and a tub of gravy with it. It was really tasty. For the both of us of course, we liked a lot of the same things. The air was suddenly interrupted by a loud horn sound, that echoes through the skies. It went darker for a moment, like all the lights in the world were dimmed for this announcement; Players: The server will be down today, January 22nd, from 4:00 AM to 3:00 PM for scheduled maintenance. We ask that all players please log out no later than 10 miuntes before shutdown. It then repeated itself over before it stopped, leaving the silence where it was again. I checked the time. It was about half three, it was really getting late, but since we weren't at school tommor-, today, well Tallyn wasn't, he was going to be set up in a government created school for the 'game' survivors sometime after this term. As for me, I only had an afternoon lesson, so a late morning wake up wouldn't be the end of the world for me. "We still have some time left today, do you want to try it again?" He sighed and closed up his menu. He then started rubbing the back of his neck, then reaching down further into his back. "Nah, we can leave it for tomorrow. This quest isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Besides, I need to rest for a while, the flying really started killing my wings." "You don't have wings IRL, remember?" He grinned, but continued to stretch out his back. "I know that, but it just feel like I have these phantom libs in my back, and they are aching from all that flying." He stopped briefly and looked around. He pointed out to a cheap inn near the outskirts of the city. I thought at first we were going to enjoyt some online drinks at a bar, but I was wrong when he avoided the bar and sat straight at a table. Then he exhaled and flicked his left wrist, opening up the menu. "I'm logging out anyways. You staying?" "For a bit. You not going to rent a room?" I asked him. It seemed strange to think that he would want to sleep in a chair, when he was exposed like this. He could get items stolen, or worse, he could lose exp if he was killed here without being able to fight back. "Why bother? We're in a safe zone in neutral territory. I'll just log out in one of these chairs, and I'll eventually disappear before long." I sighed. He knew better than me about surviving. I guessed that he already thought this out. But I wanted a bed to logout from so my character wouldn't feel so stiff in the morning. "Ok then. See you Onii-chan." Tallyn smiled at me for one last time before opening up the logout option. "Good night, brother." He hit the logout button, and his character fell like a sack of sugar into the chair. I waited at the bar for a glass of <>. It had simulating effects that real world alcohol did, but it wasn't the best recreation so, a glass or two wouldn't do anything. Plus it didn't have any particularly strong taste, but it did restore health a bit quicker for a while, so I wouldn't have to wait as long. My vision was starting to blur a little around the edge, but my balance wasn't decreasing, so I thought I had enough. I was about to flick my wrist for the menu, when the least likely event should of happened; The door slammed wide open as two avatar's fell through the door. The colours of green and black laid flat against the floor, which meant that it belonged to a Spriggan and a Sylph. "Made it." I heard a lot of panting, from the two of them. They call must have reached them later than they expected, and they wanted to logout in a safe place before being forced to leave. It was only when they started getting up that I noticed who the Spriggan was; his black spiky hair, his oversized sword, it was all too coincidental. I'd seen him, talking to my brother, back in Legrue earlier today. Kirito? I believe that was his name. I turned my head, hoping not to get noticed. I'd seen how my brother changed his entire personality around him, like he was suddenly gone and another person took his place. I didn't want to be reminded, and if I turned my head, he would be gone very soon. But my luck was on my side this time; "Hey, wait. Aren't you Tallyn's brother?" "Huh, me?" I turned my head, and he was there standing behind me, his face was neutral, but I wondered what he was thinking right now. Due to the random character selection, it would be impossible for him to be looking for any familial similarities between our two characters. "Y-yeah." "Kirito!" his Sylph partner yelled over. "I'm heading up now. I need to sleep soon." I noticed a pixie near her shoulders, but I couldn't hear what they were talking about. I didn't realize that the AI in this game were so interactive. I presumed it would be like any other game, but it looked like those two were having a real conversation. He turned his head. "Hey Leafa, would you mind just giving us some time?" She huffed like it was huge problem, but crossed her arms, closer her eyes and gave in. "Well, you're paying for the room, so it's the least I suppose." She then smiled as she walked away upstairs. "See you later, Kirito." "See you, Leafa." The pixie on her shoulder then flew straight up towards Kirito's face. "I'll be up in a while, ok Yui." She flew up and kissed him on the cheek, which I thought was strange, but not as strange as her response as she saluted him. "Copy that, Daddy." Daddy? Please tell me he didn't choose that as her name for him. "What did you want to talk about?" "It's Alshain, right?" he asked, and of course I nodded back. I shouldn't be surprised that he would now my name; He and my brother probably talked a lot about me when I spaced out earlier today. "Well, we still have time here before we have to log out. I'm glad to see that you survived SAO." He said it. SAO. I looked at him, and I was shocked at how he could just say it and not react the same way my brother and everyone I knew did. Wasn't he scared too? Didn't he remember how horrible it must have been to be stuck in a game designed to kill you permanently? Why not him? How could he say it, and my brother can't even mention it, without me thinking he would kill himself after what happened? And he thought I was there too. Stuck in SAO. I was barely able to stay logged in for fifteen minutes. All I did was look for Tallyn, for my brother, then I was gone. I was out and I was safe, but Satoru was stuck. The last expression I remembered of him, was betrayal. I took his account when he didn't know and he was furious. Then when he came out, he looked so scared. "I didn't though" I responded, trying not to gasp like I was filling my eyes. "I was logged out by the system before I could even survive. I never went through the same hell as you guys did." He just smiled and looked like he was about to turn and walk away. "Well, consider yourself one of the lucky ones. I have to go now-" I grabbed his arm. I needed to know. If he knew my brother, then he would know what he was like. Could he have done it? "I was told, that he killed players. I don't want to believe it but there is too much evidence. And I can't ask him about it, . . . because I'm worried . . . he'll kill himself if I do." "Everyone in SAO had to kill someone, sometime or later. I have killed, in order to save someone I cared about." "Twelve though" I cut in. It wasn't a number anyone could ignore. "I haven't even heard of a mass murderer kill that many alone. I look at him, and I don't like what he becomes when he is reminded of that place." I was on the verge of tears now. I couldn't hold it in. Damn this game and the over top emotional simulations. "I just wanted my brother back. But I feel like he's slipping away from me. And, it's only a matter of time before I wake up one day, and he's gone for good. Why did he put himself through that. Why?" He stared for a whole minute before his whole face just dropped. I broke through the façade, that all the players were making. They were all hurt and breaking in some form, but they always hide it with false smiles. I knew my brother for too long to know when he was faking an expression. He pulled out a chair and sat at the bar with me. I was tempted to drown my woes now with another <>, as the effects were wearing off. He sat there with both his hands on the counter, looking at his hands. "Because we were fighting for someone else. There're differences between player killers and killing players; If you're killing because want to, and you enjoy every minute of it, then you're monster, because anyone who could take pleasure in ending someone's life in that way, is not even human in my eyes." The waterworks started to dry out. I never thought of it in that way before; Players enjoying killing other people, and knowing that they were doing it. He sighed and laid back onto his chair with his head looking at the ceiling. "I may not have known your brother as long as you, the real him I mean. But I do know that he's a good person inside. I'm sure that no matter how many players he's killed, it was to protect someone else. As many times as we wanted to not go over the edge, sometimes they don't give you a choice, and then you just have to, because if you don't kill them, they'll kill you." If you have to kill someone, to save someone else. I never knew that could really be a thing. I never thought so intently towards something like that. I'd stopped crying now. His words, ensured me, that my brother wasn't a killer. He killed players, and I cannot change that, but he's still the same good person I knew he is on the inside. I was too blinded to initially see it though. "Thank you." He patted me on the back. "And hey, your brother was never the most social guy, but there was one name he always kept looking at on his friends list; yours. I have known him to delete friends off when they got into danger, or when he was going to do something dangerous. The thought of finding out someone had died was probably something he didn't want to face. But, your name was always there, whenever I got a chance to look." I couldn't help but smile now. My brother was always there, and he's still here. I just want to see it again, now that I know he's still there somewhere. Category:Chapter Category:AdamantiumBladez